Is My Baby Overweight?

Wondering whether your baby is overweight or just pleasingly plump? With childhood obesity on the rise in the US, that's a common worry. But your chubby baby may be perfectly healthy. Here are some tips for determining whether your baby is really overweight.

Growth Charts

Your pediatrician will have, and probably will use, growth charts. He or she may give you a copy of your child's growth chart after a checkup. But growth charts simply compare your child's height and weight to the heights and weights of other children. Scoring in the 90^th percentile for weight doesn't necessarily mean your child is overweight; it just means that your child is heavier than 90 percent of other children. Even that sounds scary, but if your child is taller or larger-framed, then the 90^th percentile may be perfectly normal!

KidsHealth explains that doctors will watch a baby's growth pattern to determine whether he or she is overweight. If the baby's growth is following a normal curve for the child's age, he or she is probably fine. If your baby shows a sudden weight gain that doesn't correspond to the normal curve, or a weight gain without a corresponding height gain, then he or she may be overweight.

Body Mass Index (BMI) charts are also available for children, but these charts only apply to children aged two and up.

Breastfed or Formula-Fed?

Standard growth charts don't take into account whether a baby is breastfed or formula-fed. But Kelly Bonyata, a certified lactation consultant and founder of kellymom.com, notes that "it is normal for breastfed babies to gain weight more rapidly than their formula-fed peers during the first 2-3 months and then taper off (particularly between 9 and 12 months)." So especially during the first year, exclusively breastfed infants may seem heavier, but this is normal. According to Bonyata, the breastfed infant will likely slim down as he or she starts becoming more active by crawling and walking. Also, children often begin eating less as they become toddlers.

Prevention

To keep your baby from becoming overweight, breastfeeding is best. The La Leche League has a report citing several studies which show that breastfed babies are less likely to become overweight children.

For babies who are eating solid food and drinking juice, it's best to limit juices and avoid foods and drinks with added sugar. Even 100% fruit juice is high in calories, so the University of Michigan Health System recommends limiting children to four to six ounces per day, and never giving juice to babies under six months of age. And babies and young children should never have soda, of course!

Sources:

"Growth Charts", KidsHealth.com.

Kelly Bonyata, "Is My Exclusively Breastfed Infant Gaining Too Much Weight?", kellymom.com.

Ginna Wall, "Outcomes of Breastfeeding vs. Formula Feeding", La Leche League International.

Kyla Boyse, "Feeding Your Baby and Toddler: Birth to Age Two", University of Michigan Health System.